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Lawmakers hear floating-solar pitch to cut evaporation and add renewable power
Summary
Presenters from Waterwise Solar described floating-solar systems that can reduce reservoir evaporation and produce power; commissioners and canal managers asked about minimum viable pond sizes, operations, wildlife impacts and the economics, while presenters cited NREL estimates (roughly 4–5 acre-feet per acre covered) and flagged pilot opportunities.
Waterwise Solar founders Lee Adams and Jim Anderson presented floating‑solar technology to the commission as a tool to simultaneously save water and produce electricity. They described three deployment categories: water/wastewater-treatment ponds and industrial lagoons (lowest complexity), hydro‑matched reservoirs where generation can align with existing transmission, and larger irrigation or saline-lake installations (higher complexity but larger potential impact).
Presenters said floating arrays are established technology (examples in Park City and international deployments) and cited National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) research suggesting roughly 4–5 acre‑feet of pan‑evaporation reduction per acre of water surface covered as an order-of-magnitude figure. They described small pilots (Park City ~0.6 MW, <2 acres) and noted large-scale gigawatt potential would require thousands of acres and coordination with utilities and federal reservoir owners.
Commissioners and water‑system managers asked about minimum pond sizes, intermittent or drawn‑down reservoirs, maintenance and cleaning, avian/wildlife impacts, and the revenue model (current utility payment levels vs. project costs). Canal operators said economics depend heavily on the price paid for power and urged coordination with public utilities. Presenters noted floating systems can be engineered to be movable for maintenance and that shading generally reduces, not increases, water temperatures—though larger reservoirs require environmental study.
Next steps identified during the hearing included targeted pilots on wastewater treatment ponds, canal covers, and hydro‑matched reservoirs, and follow-up financial analyses that incorporate the value of water saved as well as electricity revenues.
